The Story of Darth Taegous
by Darth Taegous
Summary: The story of the Sith Lady Darth Taegous, and the effects her appearance in the Star Wars storyline has elsewhere... AU... TO BE REWRITTEN.
1. Prologue

**Prologue****  
****Yavin IV  
****Pre-Empire**

**_A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..._**

Thoma looked around, confused. How did she get here? The four-year-old's head hurt as if she had been run over by a rampaging gundark…

She sat up slowly, tears starting to form in her large green eyes. Scrapes covered her arms and legs, and her clothing was torn and burned. Where were Mommy and Daddy? All around her debris was slowly burning, and the smell of cindered cloth and vegetation permeated the air.

She scrambled to her feet, breathing hard. Turning around, she saw the wreckage of the ship that had carried her. An early-model Corellian freighter, it was about avareage-sized with a matte-black hull. It had left a large swath of the jungle around her burned, trees crushed and splintered in its path when it had crashed down into the ground and scraped along the jungle floor.

She attempted to walk towards the ship, but her legs were wobbly and she had a hard time even standing. Thoma managed to find her balance after a few minutes of standing in one place, and then she gingerly tried to take a few steps; she managed three before she fell back down on her face, causing a fresh wave of tears to fill her eyes. In front of her, one last explosion rocked the remains of the ship, sending a wave of heat that scorched her hair.

She crawled forward slowly, careful not to hurt her already-damaged arms and legs any further. One arm felt like it was fractured, and threatened to give out on her as she moved towards the ship, but she was strong. She though about it not hurting, getting better, and the pain eased a bit, however little. She had almost reached the hull when she heard another ship land nearby. The ion engines made a distinctive whining sound that echoed through the forest canopy.

Frightened, she crawled as fast as she could to a jumble of fallen tree branches and hid herself from view in the large leaves. A few minutes later, she heard men's voices coming toward the ship. Careful not to be seen, she peeked out through a hole in the twigs.

Four men were around the ship; two humans, a Rodian, and what she thought was called an Aqualish. She wasn't sure. They were laughing and congratulating each other, looking at the ship and the contents. They started pulling away the debris and searching through whatever was left, excavating jewelry and other items that they found valuable.

Then they pulled out something larger, and a second thing of roughly the same size. Thoma squinted through her tears and the dark leaves surrounding her. What was it they had pulled out? She didn't remember any cargo that size…

Then they threw whatever they were aside, and she let out a cry. Her parents' faces stared back at her, eyes wide and dull. Suddenly one of the Rodians stopped and motioned towards the branches she was hiding in, and the others glanced her direction. The Aqualish started to move towards her, but the human motioned otherwise. This was time to investigate cargo, not investigate every noise that might only be a lone sintrail wandering through the brush.

Thoma turned away and crawled deeper into the brush, tears pouring from her eyes. She was alone, now, on this jungle planet. She would have to be strong. She would have been without her parents anyway, she reminded herself; she was on her way to Coruscant. Her parents, and someone in a robe that had come to her home, had explained something that she hadn't thought possible. She was to become a Jedi.

She had been overjoyed, until she had learned she had to leave her parents. This trip was the last they were to take together. Thoma stopped and huddled on the jungle floor, her arms wrapped around her legs and her knees pressed into her eyes. This wasn't _fair_. Why did this happen? Why? Why!

Angrily, she pounded her fist on the forest floor and once again scrambled to her feet. She walked a few steps, determined that she would be strong, before she collapsed again in utter despair. She cried, and cried…

An immeasurable amount of time later, she had run out of tears. She was dehydrated and hungry. Her stomach rumbled despite the fact that she didn't feel like eating anything at all; though it might need food, her stomach was still twisted into knots. What was she supposed to eat here, anyway? Everything she looked at had thorns or an oily outer coating. She might have been only four, but she was smart for her age and knew that most plants weren't edible.

She sighed and moved onward through the jungle. She would probably come to water soon. For hours she walked, until night had fallen. All around her she could hear creatures awakening, or going back to their nests for the night. She flinched and cried out as a whisper bird flew over hear head. Somewhere to her left, a woolamander called.

Frightened, she ran blindly as fast as she could. Adrenaline pumping through her system, she ran until her legs collapsed from beneath her. But them, looking at the ground in front of her, she noticed a change. That wasn't grass, or even rich, loamy jungle soil. It reflected the night sky. Water!

Unrestrained, Thoma drank as much of the water as her stomach could hold. She felt slightly ill afterwards, the water sloshing around in her stomach. She decided to drink one more handful when, as she reached her hands in, they scraped something beneath the surface. She snatched her hands back, afraid that it might be some creature, but when nothing happened she reached back and quickly brushed her hand through the water. Sure enough, it touched something that looked felt like stone. Carved, flat stone, like a stepping stone.

Curious, she put her weight on the hand, and when nothing happened she put her other hand on the same stone. Repeating this with her feet, she was soon sitting on a stone that must have been only millimeters under the water. A thought occurred to her, and she reached out into the water to feel for another stone. As she reached out her hand, she once again felt stone underneath the water. She moved to this stone, then continued the pattern until she felt she must have been almost to the middle of the lake. Then, as she was reaching out for another stone, she instead felt dirt.

She clambered onto the shore, and tried to see in the near-complete darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the starlight, what she saw before her amazed her. A large statue of a man in robes stood before her. A tattoo of a sun was emblazoned on his forehead. And then, behind, him, she saw a huge black stone temple, almost invisible in the night. She cautiously walked forward.

As she took a few steps, she felt a sudden cold breeze and shivered. Up until now it had been almost unbearably hot and humid. Almost as soon as she felt the breeze, it was gone, leaving only what sounded like a whisper in its wake. She hesitated, but then some large beast roared deep in the jungle and she dashed inside. It was empty, and her footsteps echoed in the silence.

A faint luminescence seemed to light the place, and in the dim light she could just make out ancient writing carved into the stone walls. The floor was dusty, but as she stepped and the dust came off, she could see that it was a shiny black, like obsidian. Nevertheless, it seemed a safer place to stay the night than the jungle outside. Curling up against the wall, she fell into a fitful sleep.

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Her dreams were about her parents, the way the shuttle crashed down through the jungle before the impact and her being blown away, out of the ship, to land on the jungle floor already unconscious.

She dreamed of her mother, on their home world of Kessel. It wasn't the most pleasant place, but they managed and had a happy life. She dreamed of her mother reading her stories at night, keeping her safe from the monsters under her sleeping mattress, and preparing warm bubble baths, always letting Thoma add the bubble sphere herself.

She dreamed of going to work one day with her father, him showing her how the generators kept up the shields that gave them breathable air. Of him taking her on long walks, and always making her laugh.

And then she dreamed of something different, unfamiliar. She dreamed of herself years from now, long black hair streaming. She was wearing a black cloak and robe, and on her hip she wore a belt on which hung what she knew to be a lightsaber. She was standing with an awful smile on her face, and in her hands she held purple lightning…

The image then transformed into the man of the statue she had seen outside the temple, the man with the long dark hair streaming behind him, the blazing sun tattooed on his forehead. He was standing in front of a large group of massed aliens, working laboriously to build great temples on the jungle moon.

She woke in a sweat, trembling. Someone else was in here.

"Who's there?" she called into the dark. Her voice reverberated through the temple, echoing in the dark corners. A small laugh answered.

"Nothing to be afraid of, child," a voice answered. It was a man's. "Don't be frightened."

"Who are you?" Thoma asked, more confused than frightened. She couldn't see anyone in the temple.

"If you want to know," the voice replied, "Then I will answer. I am Exar Kun."

With that statement, a shadow appeared at the far end of the temple. It grew in size and formed into a shape- a tall man, long black hair… and a tattoo of a black sun on his forehead. _The statue!_ Thoma thought, entranced. She was no longer frightened, just curious.

"Where did you come from?" She asked, looking curiously up at Exar Kun.

The figure chuckled again, "That is unimportant. What is important is that you learn how to survive on this world. But first, I must ask you something."

"What?" Thoma asked, looking up at the tattoo.

"You have a certain… power." Kun started, but then Thoma jumped in.

"I know!" she said, "A Jedi told me. I was going to go to Coruscant and train…" but with that, she couldn't hold the tears in again. "The… the smugglers… the bad men… I… I… I hate them all! Why did they do this?"

"There is no way to know," Kun said, mimicking sympathy, intrigued. This might be easier than he thought. "But you don't want to join the Jedi. They're as bad as those smugglers, little one. I can teach you greater things than they can, if you are willing to learn. I may no longer have a body, but I can still teach. I can teach you how to get back at those smugglers, and all the others that have ever caused you pain or suffering."

Thoma's eyes lit up with intrigue and she stopped crying. "How?" she asked.

Kun smiled, pleased. "Simple. You join me. You learn all you can, not from the restrained and self-important Jedi, but from a much more reliable source… teachings where you are not limited in your emotions, where you are allowed vengeance on those who have harmed you. You must learn the teachings of the Sith."

"Sith…" Thoma tried out the word on her tongue. It sounded interesting, and she wanted to get back at those men. She wanted them _dead_. "Teach me," she said, looking up at Exar Kun's face.

Kun grinned, "Then you will learn, Darth Taegous."

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_To be continued..._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, and all Star Wars content except for my OC Darth Taegous (me!) is (c) Lucasfilm Ltd. George Lucas owns everything.**

**Author's note: I have _finally _started my character's story! Yay! It only took me four months to decide to do it...heh. I'll be working on this along with my Jumanji story, so it may take a while between chapters, especially since school's started. Any comments or criticisms are always appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Yavin IV**

**10 years after the creation of the Empire**

Darth Taegous sat upon the very top of the tallest Massassi temple, meditating. Reaching out with the Force, she could sense every life-form around her, from the woolamanders swinging through the tall jungle canopy to the swarms of piranha beetles hovering by the water hole. She could sense their intents; the woolamanders searching for food, constantly alert for the dangers of carnivorous sintrail rats, the piranha beetles waiting for something to come imbibe water so the beetles could swarm and eat.

Obtaining mental contact with the animals on Yavin IV was a simple exercise, a warm-up. Slowly, Taegous moved outward, sensing the microscopic chunks of rock and metal in orbit, the other moons, and then the gas giant Yavin itself, a turmoil of swirling superheated gases and the rare corusca gems that were formed by the intense pressure and heat towards the center of the planet.

Carefully, she probed the gems with her mind, feeling for one small and flawless. A gem about the size of a knuckle would do nicely for her purpose. She sifted through the thousands upon thousands of gems spinning around in the planet's atmosphere.

Eventually, after an unspecified and uncalculated amount of time, she felt the speck in her mind, the sharp, curved edges of a perfect corusca gem. Carefully following its sporadic orbit, she reached out and carefully grasped it in the invisible fingers of her mind. She sat like this for the next fifteen minutes while she dragged the gem through the harsh atmosphere of Yavin and through the much milder atmosphere of her jungle moon home, Yavin IV.

Finally, she grasped the crystal in her hand.

She examined the crystal; the hundreds of facets glittered in the light of Yavin's sun, casting a rainbow of colors across her arms and face. The gem itself was a rich orange-yellow, and it fit just perfectly in her hand. It was a bit larger than she would need for her purpose, but that was easily fixed.

She pictured the crystal in her mind, and then imagined the crystal splitting smoothly in half along the natural planes of the crystal. She heard a sharp _crack!_ and, looking in her hand, saw two identical, perfect crystals.

The two crystals would actually be more useful than one, now that she thought about it; two gems could be used to create a bi-crystal lightsaber, which was able to extend to more than twice its length at the touch of a button, if constructed properly.

Cradling the two precious gems in her hand, Darth Taegous stood and worked the cramps out of her back, neck, legs, and arms. She had no idea how long she had actually been sitting there, and for all she knew it could have been days. At any rate, she was extremely hungry and wanted to get back to her stone room inside the temple so she could rest and begin her lightsaber.

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After eating a select group of fruits found outside the temple, Darth Taegous returned to her room inside the temple. The room itself was a clutter of various items; mechanical pieces she had scrounged from one of the store rooms littered one corner, a plain and small cot she had found took up another, and along all the walls were various items she had collected over the years.

Come to think of it, how old was she? Darth Taegous could remember being either three or four when she first came, but after that…

Thirteen, maybe? Fourteen?

It was of no importance, however. She stepped over to the block of stone she had been using for a desk and surveyed the mess of wires, pieces of metal, and various tools she had been piecing together slowly for weeks. It was her lightsaber, and the only piece left to add was the crystal case.

For the next day, she sat creating the crystal chamber, tweaking the systems to work with two crystals, and testing various switches. If this didn't go completely right, it would explode as soon as she turned it on.

Finally, though, after hours of work, the finished lightsaber sat gleaming on the table in front of her. It was the silver pieces that reflected the evening light, although the lightsaber hilt was primarily black.

The only thing left to do now was turn it on.

Every muscle in her body was tingling with excitement as she slowly reached out, flipped the switch that would turn the saber on, and…

The characteristic hum of a lightsaber filled the small room and echoed off all the walls as a brilliant crimson blade erupted from the hilt of the lightsaber.

Darth Taegous was mesmerized. She had never actually seen a lightsaber except once before, on the day that lying Jedi had said he would take her to be trained…

Darth Taegous gritted her teeth angrily and turned the small knob on the side of her lightsaber that would lengthen the blade. She remembered just in time to point the lightsaber into a wide area of open space, and the blade leapt out, lengthening from the normal four feet of blade to an impressive nine.

Turning the knob back to normal length, she reluctantly switched off her lightsaber. The sudden quiet and dark was interrupted when a cold chill entered the room and the voice of Exar Kun spoke to her.

"So, my young apprentice, you have constructed your lightsaber."

"Yes, my Master," said Darth Taegous, dropping to one knee.

"I think, then, that it is time you test it," replied Exar Kun, his dark shape appearing in the room, "A small group of smugglers seems to have landed about two kilometers to the west of this temple. I think you'll find that you remember them well…"

Darth Taegous did remember them well. They were the smugglers who had attacked the ship that she and her parents were traveling in, who had thrown aside the bodies of her mother and father as if they were trash and stolen everything in the ship. She remembered them as if it were yesterday and she could still see her mother's blank, dead eyes.

"They're here?" Darth Taegous's head snapped up, a dark light gleaming in her green-gray eyes, and she replied darkly, "I will leave immediately, my Master, and they shall pay for what they have done."

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The light in the sky was just beginning to fade and Yavin's mass just beginning to fill the sky when Darth Taegous silently crept up outside the smugglers' camp. These men called themselves smugglers, but they were really pirates inside.

Peering through the dense foliage of the bushes, Darth Taegous watched as the men sat around a portable food synthesizer and laughed as they ate. She recognized the two humans and the Rodian, but she didn't see the Aqualish. He'd probably been killed. Darth Taegous smiled as she thought about him dying a painful death somewhere.

As they began to laugh anew, she quietly stepped out of the bushes, careful not to be seen. For a good ten minutes, she just stood there, her hatred growing. How could these men throw away the lives of people just for the profit? How could they sit here and laugh now, at the very site where they had destroyed and looted a certain Corellian freighter ten years before? _How could they just sit here and _laugh

Stepping forward again, she made sure that her self-constructed boots made a definite _crunch _on the dry leaves that sat upon the ashes of her past. The Rodian was the first to notice, turning his head towards the sound. He leapt up, the twin sensory organs atop his antennae-like appendages on his head swiveling toward her, and drew his blaster.

The two humans leapt up shortly after they saw their companion rise, and removed their blasters from the holsters on their belts. One of the humans, the taller of the two, spoke first.

"You can put down any weapons you may have now, because they sure as hell aren't going to do you any good against all three of us. What do you want?"

Darth Taegous laughed, a cruel sound that sent shivers down the spines of the smugglers, even the Rodian.

"You really don't know? Tell me, do you remember a certain time around ten years ago, when you crippled a Corellian freighter and sent it spiraling down toward the ground? If I remember right, it was matte-black, an older model… let's see, now. Yes, and I'm quite certain that you discovered three passengers: two humans from Kessel and a _Jedi_." She spat the last word like a curse, bitterness etching her face.

The shorter human began to speak, but Darth Taegous cut him off. "You do remember, it's no use lying. I can sense it in your feelings." The smugglers- no, pirates- paled, gripping their blasters even tighter than before.

The short one swallowed, mustering his courage, "You're a Jedi, aren't you? What, have you come for payment? You seem a little _young_ to be on this mission alone. There's another, isn't there?"

"I hold no connection to the _Jedi!"_ Darth Taegous yelled, and at once she grabbed the Force and used it to rip the blasters out of their hands. "Both you and the Jedi ruined my life! You have _no idea_ what I went through because of you…"

At this point, the shorter human turned around and tried to run back to the ship. Before he got more than two feet, a resounding _crack!_ echoed through the forest and the human fell limp, tongue lolling out. Darth Taegous had snapped his spinal column, but he wasn't dead. Not yet. She would finish him… _later_. His sins would not go unpunished.

At this point, both the taller human and the Rodian were shaking like wet leaves in a rainstorm. The human was as white as a ghost, and was on the verge of collapsing.

"Who are you?" he whispered, involuntarily taking a step back as she came closer.

"I" Darth Taegous said, removing her lightsaber from her belt, both the Rodian and human's eyes following every move, "am a certain _little girl_, left to die on a lone jungle world, after my _parents_ were mercilessly killed in a pirate raid by apparent smugglers and then had their bodies thrown aside like so much trash."

She lit the blade, and at the sight of the crimson flame both pirates fell to their knees. With a cold smile, she placed the end of the blade at the Rodian's neck, teasing like a cat with a mouse, then faster than a fleeing voorpak cleaved him from shoulder to thigh.

Then, turning to the humans, she said coldly, "The merciless deserve no mercy."

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From the temple, Exar Kun smiled. His apprentice's training was going well, and soon she would serve only the Dark Side of the Force. He could feel her cold rage as she cut down the smugglers with merciless efficiency, as her actions and feelings sent dark ripples through the Force.

Yes, soon she would be all his, and they would together discover a way to bring back his ruined body…

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, and all Star Wars content except for my OC Darth Taegous (me!) is (c) Lucasfilm Ltd. George Lucas owns everything.**

**Kavek: Thank you for reviewing and reminding me that this story existed! I completely forgot about it after school started again, but now the first chapter is finally up!**

**Author's Note: I'm not sure if anyone's still reading my Jumanji story, so until I get confirmation that I do still have readers, I'll just be working on this in my free time (that I'm not watching Full Metal Alchemist, heh…) along with maybe my Dungeons and Dragons story. I don't like my Jumanji story at all anymore, and those stupid rhymes are so kriffing hard to come up with that I'm not sure I want to continue it. If anyone is interested in continuing or re-writing it, just contact me- you can have it. I'm hoping to get the next chapter of this up sometime within the next week or so- if it gets to be longer than that, kick me and I'll start writing again.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Yavin IV**

**19 Years after the creation of the Empire**

Once again, the dreams came; the dreams of the crash, of the smugglers, and of her ruthless killing. And once again, like every time before, Darth Taegous woke up sweating and panting on her hard wooden mattress, unable to fall back asleep for hours or at all.

"Stang!" the curse rang out through the otherwise silent room, echoing slightly; yet another night of no sleep, and nothing to do until morning. Darth Taegous knew that she was already too far behind on her sleep, and she also knew that she would need every ounce of energy she could get when she went on the fifteen-mile run through the woods that Exar Kun had assigned her to do the next day.

She abruptly sat up, shoved her feet into her black-dyed Runyip-hide boots, and stormed toward the door to her room, grabbing a cloak and throwing it around her neck on the way out. If she couldn't sleep, then she would meditate.

Bloodsucking bugs swarmed around her as she walked out into the cool, damp night air, but with simple use of her anger she created a "bubble" of unpleasantness around herself, and the bugs flew away to find something else to bite.

The stairs to the top of the largest temple numbered over a thousand, but Darth Taegous bounded up them by tens and twenties, never allowing herself to tire or stop to feel weary. This was just another test of her own abilities; she never failed, for failure was unforgivable.

Once up top, she allowed herself to calm and look out over the huge jungle trees that bordered the clearing around the great temple. The quiet clicking, buzzing, and hissing of numerous insects was audible in the background, and in the distance she could hear something large crashing through the trees.

She took deep breaths, focusing her anger, and felt the familiar blanket of the Dark Side wrap around her, filling her with energy and power. It still wasn't perfect; it took decades for even the most accomplished Sith Lord to gain perfect harmony with the Dark Side of the Force, and Exar Kun had accomplished perfection in centuries.

But she mustn't allow her frustration with the imperfection to cloud her senses. Frustration could be a useful tool in battle, but while meditating it clouded the mind, cutting one off from the full power of the Dark Side.

Once more Darth Taegous began to take deep breaths, listening to every sound in the forest, sensing even the smallest organism that crawled or squirmed on every surface. This planet was _alive_. There may have been no other Sentient life on the planet besides Exar Kun and herself, but there was plenty of animal diversity.

Piranha beetles swarmed even this late at night, ever searching for more food, Runyip slept in their large herds, constantly light sleepers in case a predator should decide to intrude upon their slumber, Woolamanders held their young in "cradles" made from putting both their hands together, and numerous unidentified species, both nocturnal and diurnal, went about their activities or slept.

Deep in meditation, Darth Taegous now swept her senses out past the small moon, past even Yavin, to sense the other planets in the system as well. Every little asteroid was a bright speck of light to her dark senses, just another chunk of rock or comet was part of the larger whole.

She could feel the planets in their orbits around the giant sun, ever burning brightly, destined to die out in just the next million or so years from consumption of its own mass for fuel. Then, at the edge of the system, she felt something else come- something that felt vaguely familiar, but yet something that she hadn't felt in a long, long, time, not since-

The smugglers.

Sentients! There were Sentients entering the system, in numerous spacecraft, just now coming out of Hyperspace. Strange, that after all this time, she would remember how ships worked and what Hyperspace was, but her memory had always been crystal clear. She could remember the crash of her own ship like it was yesterday.

But that didn't matter now- Exar Kun needed to know that there were Sentients coming into the system, if he didn't know already. Darth Taegous didn't think that Exar Kun ever slept, but he might be in deep self-meditation, unaware of the things around him.

Darth Taegous had never disturbed him during these meditation exercises before, but this was important. Sentients meant ships. Ships meant that she could get off of this planet and commence scouting for Exar Kun, informing him of what had happened in all the years he had been trapped here.

_Master!_ She sent the message through the Force. Exar Kun wouldn't be able to understand exactly what Darth Taegous was saying, but the sense of the words should have been enough to let him know that something important had happened. _This is important! Ships carrying Sentients just entered the system, and may be planning to land here. This could be my chance to leave and gather information for you._

Darth Taegous felt Exar Kun stir, and she kneeled as she felt his presence come through the temple to the very top, where she was. A shadow materialized in the air before her, a dark-haired man with the tattoo of a black sun on his forehead.

"You have sensed something, my young apprentice?" Exar Kun asked, looking straight at Darth Taegous, "Rise. Inform me of what you have seen."

"Yes, Master," said Darth Taegous, standing up to look Kun straight in the eyes, "Sentients have entered the system in numerous ships. I think that they may be planning to land on Yavin IV; I don't sense that they could be headed anywhere else."

"This is an interesting development," mused Kun, looking at the star-riddled sky above them and reaching out with his own senses, "I too sense that they must land here; go and wait for them when they land, but stay hidden in the shadows. Return and tell me what you have learned after you discover what their purpose is here. We may yet gain a chance to learn what has passed in the galaxy while we were exiled here."

"Yes, my Master," Darth Taegous said simply, then leapt from the side of the temple, midnight-black cloak fluttering in her wake. She used the Force to cushion her fall and landed expertly on her feet at the bottom, then darted into the thick jungle, disappearing into the shadows.

Kun watched her leave, then streamed back to the very bottom level of the Dark Side temple, gathering his energy to meditate on this new development.

"Yes, this could be very interesting indeed."

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Darth Taegous silently continued to run under the huge limbs of Yavin IV's trees in the warm, humid air that gathered there, prevented from rising into the atmosphere by the impressive leaves.

She could sense the Sentients drawing closer in their ships, circling overhead on this side of the planet. They were headed for the clearing up ahead next to some of the older Massassi temples, she was sure, and she would not fail Exar Kun in finding out what they were up to.

It felt good to be running in the night air again, and despite the lack of sleep she now felt wide awake. She finally had another mission, after years of waiting she would be able to at least _see_ other Sentients again, if not speak to them, and she would be able to complete one of Lord Kun's requests.

Not that she hadn't completed his other requests- no, she had completed all of them. But this was a real mission, something important that might finally be able to get both of them off this moon, or at least her off so she could find a way to get Exar Kun a body and out of those temples.

The whirring sound of repulsorlifts passed by overhead, accompanied by the creaking of Durasteel and the whining of engines, and Darth Taegous braced herself for the rush of wind that she knew followed in a ship's wake.

Sure enough, as soon as the ship passed overhead, a strong rush of wind crashed through the trees, snapping the weaker limbs and causing a family of Woolamanders to start chattering worriedly in the trees above.

The gust was short, however, and Darth Taegous forced herself to run even faster. There was no doubt that the ship was headed for the clearing, and she was sure that the others were going to follow close behind. She wanted to see a ship land; after all this time, she still couldn't get that crash out of her head, and perhaps this would help to rid her of the memory.

She spotted the clearing up ahead, and sprinted the last few paces until she reached the edge of the jungle, then promptly leapt up into the branches of the tree above, leaping from branch to branch with ease, until she reached a spot where she would be sure to both see and hear the ships coming down and their occupants emerging.

Within seconds, the ship that had passed overhead stopped circling and began its descent into the clearing, landing "legs" emerging from the hull to settle on the grass below. It powered down, creating a whooshing sound that echoed over the treetops. Several more ships appeared, some in A-, Y-, or X-shapes, and others were large and boxy.

Not all the ships had landed, though; Darth Taegous could sense several other ships, too large to land, orbiting just outside of Yavin IV's atmosphere.

The hulls of the ship had now cooled, and the boarding ramps lowered from the sides of the ships or, in the cases of the smaller fighters, the cockpits opened and ladders lowered. All species came from the ships- Sullustans, Chiss, Humans, and even an Ithorian could be seen scouting the area surrounding the temples.

Darth Taegous enhanced her hearing with the Force, enticing sound vibrations to come directly to her ears, and was able to listen to snatches of conversation…

"-Imperials here. Repeat, no sign of… erials here."

"-perfect. These… emples could be of… eat use to us. They'd ma… wonderful docking bays."

"…ed Five to Blue Fo… nd your Y-wing over he… the forest could be good for… ocking transmitter sign… s."

"-way the Imperials will find us here. The Rebellion sh… be safe here for the ti… eing."

Cutting off her connection to the conversation, Darth Taegous sat in the tree for a few more minutes before leaping down and starting at a run back to the temple. From what it sounded like, this "Rebellion" was in hiding from these "Imperials," and they had decided to try and make a base on Yavin IV, or at least land there.

She would give this information to Exar Kun and then meditate on it herself. Because from what she had heard… it sounded as if the Republic didn't exist at all.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, and all Star Wars content except for my OC Darth Taegous (me!) is (c) Lucasfilm Ltd. George Lucas owns everything.**

**Author's Note: FINALLY I made a second chapter that I'm happy with! I had horrible writer's block for the longest time- sorry to anyone that was reading it! ; But anyway- I think that I may write the next chapter sometime either this week or next week, and if I don't update until July, feel free to kick me. Please review, I find that reviews are what keep me writing on time! Criticism, comments, anything is appreciated:P**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Yavin IV**

**19 years after the creation of the Empire**

The humming of insects was the only sound heard by the Rebel guards just outside of a large temple being used as a hangar bay. Every once in a while, a gust of wind or the call of some animal would break the relative silence, but otherwise nothing disturbed their shift.

Dressed in gray and orange uniforms, the guards held blasters loosely at their sides, oblivious to the fact that there was danger waiting just yards away in an inconspicuous stand of trees to their left. From the shadows, Darth Taegous smiled. This would be all too easy.

Using the Force, Taegous made a small rock to the guards' right to go hurtling into the stone side of the temple, creating a loud _clack_! and causing both to jump and point their blasters at the harmless noise, completely missing the blur and _snap-hiss _sound to the left.

Neither had time to think any more before their heads hit the ground, closely followed by their bodies.

Switching off the crimson blade of her lightsaber as swiftly as she had ignited it, Darth Taegous hooked it back onto her belt. Once again there was silence, broken only by the sound of some large insect clicking. She quietly lifted a hand, using the Force to hurl the two bodies, including heads, into the jungle. By morning, nothing save for the bones would be left and these "Rebels" would assume some animal had dragged both guards off during the night.

After describing the situation to Exar Kun the night before, Darth Taegous had been given another mission: obtain a leader of these "Rebels" so both Kun and she could learn what events had occurred while they were in isolation on this deserted jungle moon.

So far, this had proven to be a very unchallenging request.

Taegous examined the steel blast doors that had apparently been hurriedly installed into the temple's entrance the previous day, looking for the touchpad so she could enter unnoticed. In the dim light generated on the horizon by Yavin's bright glow, she finally spotted the touchpad to the far left of the door and quickly moved to take a look.

With a quick scan using her Force abilities, the door slid silently open. It was a simple system, really; the touchpad required someone to put their hand over certain sensors on the front of the pad, and the pad compared the DNA registered in its system to the DNA of the person that was touching the pad. This flipped an "OK" signal in the wiring, which in turn unlocked the door.

All she had to do was flip that "OK" signal in the wiring by using her Force abilities, and she was in.

Partially she was disappointed. Exar Kun had never been able to send her on any missions before except for the time those pirates came back, and to finally get one and have it be so simple was, in part, excruciating. The side of her brain that craved excitement was greatly disappointed.

Then again, the mission was only beginning. As she stepped into the hangar bay, she saw numerous ships that required wings in an "X" shape scattered across the temple floor. All were powered down, and no pilots were left, all having chosen other rooms in the temple in which to spend the night.

The swish of her cloak and near-silent step of her boots were the only sounds in the otherwise dead-silent hangar bay as Darth Taegous walked toward another door that she knew led deeper into the temple. She had explored all these temples many times before, and knew every corridor and room.

As she reached the opening, she once again used her Force abilities to check for alarms, and easily deactivated a motion-activated trip wire before stepping through the door and into the hall beyond. Once there, she deactivated nine more.

Smirking at their _obvious _lack of preparedness, she walked through the dark corridors, making a right, a left, another left, and a final right. She could sense the pilots in the other rooms near the far side of the temple, but she could also sense that others were here, in this particular area. Since leaders generally slept separate from the masses, she could make an accurate guess that this was where she would find her… "volunteer."

Placing a Force sleep-net on all in the immediate area, Darth Taegous chose a door at random and slid the heavy stone away with a wave of her hand. Inside, sleeping on a simple cot, was the officer she needed.

"I have you now," she whispered, walking back through the temple hallways while using the Force to levitate the officer just behind her, still under the influence of the sleep-net.

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"Master, I have located and effectively obtained what I believe to be a 'Rebel' officer." Darth Taegous's voice rang out through the otherwise empty entranceway to Exar Kun's temple as the Rebel officer continued to float beside her, "He is ready for interrogation whenever you wish to commence."

"Excellent," came the cold whisper of Exar Kun as black energy swirled through the temple to form once again into the shape of her Master. "You may awake him."

"As you wish." Darth Taegous released her Force hold on the officer, lifting the sleep-net as he unceremoniously dropped to the floor and cried out as he hit the obsidian-black stone headfirst.

"What the stang…" he mumbled, obviously still oblivious to where he was, "Maj, I thought I told you never again to wake me up by flipping my cot over, you know how-" he broke off, blinking in the relative dark. His eyes widened as he saw the form of Exar Kun in front of him.

"Caf, that's what I need; I'm obviously still asleep…"

"You're not asleep, 'Rebel'," Exar Kun laughed, a cold, ruthless sound. "You're very much awake. And you are going to tell me everything that has happened over the past couple of dozen years… or you will have the honor of meeting my apprentice, Darth Taegous."

Darth? That was the same first name as Vader- or was it a title? It couldn't be that common… he stiffened, "I give no information to Imperials. Do your worst."

"You misunderstand. We don't even know who these so-called 'Imperials' are. You see, we have been… shall we say… _trapped_ here for a very long time. The last information I obtained about the outside world was when my apprentice, Taegous, arrived here, at which point there seemed to be a 'Republic'…" Kun broke off, letting the Rebel process the information.

The Rebel swallowed, his throat dry. If these two didn't know anything, then they could either help the Rebellion or go against it. He had to be careful to survive to get back to base. "The Republic was destroyed nineteen years ago… Palpatine gained control and declared a new Empire in its place- with himself as the leader. The Senate has been destroyed, it is no longer a democracy. However, there is a Rebellion that's trying to restore the values of the Republic, but Darth Vader-"

Darth Taegous suddenly stiffened and interrupted, looking straight at the Rebel. "_Darth_?"

"He's Palpatine's right-hand man," the Rebel replied nervously, afraid he had said something wrong, "A mechanical monster. No one's even sure if he's human. He wears a suit, supposedly to keep himself alive; we think that he can't breathe without it, but we're not sure. I've heard he can choke people without even touching them…" he trailed off.

Both Exar Kun and Darth Taegous had been listening intently. This was important information. If there were other Sith remaining in the galaxy… all the rules were broken. The Sith were apparently in control again, but was this Vader the apprentice… or the master? And what role did this "Palpatine" play in all of this?

Exar Kun suddenly looked at the Rebel again, snapping "What of the Jedi?"

Shrinking back, the Rebel replied, "Gone. Destroyed by Darth Vader in the purges."

That was enough information. The Sith were in control of the galaxy once more, and Kun was sure that this "Emperor Palpatine" had another identity unknown to anyone other than this "Darth Vader."

Kun looked to Darth Taegous, "I think we have obtained a reasonable amount of information. Kindly _take care of_ this 'Rebel' and return him to where you found him. I think the others might be missing him by now, don't you?"

A dark glint appeared in Taegous's eyes, and a small smirk appeared on her face. "Of course, my Master."

The Rebel looked relieved for a split second before he saw the look on Darth Taegous's face, and before the hum of a brilliant red blade made everything go black…

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"Maj, have you seen Greg today?" A voice crackled over the Twi'lek's comlink as he walked along the temple's perimeter, and he stopped to answer it, "No, why? I thought he was out on a scouting assignment."

"Maybe, but no one I've asked has seen him at all since last night, and this morning we discovered that all of our locks and alarms were deactivated last night. The two guards stationed outside the temple were found in the forest this morning- dead. They appear to have been… eaten… by some animal. It could just be a coincidence, but it looks suspicious to me… I can't even reach him over his comlink; it appears to have been switched off. Greg never does that, even at night."

A small frown of worry appeared on Maj's face. That _was_ unlike Greg. "You say that no one you've contacted has seen him at all?"

"No one. Not even his close friends, including you."

The Twi'lek continued to walk along the temple's wall, thinking. The Imperials couldn't be here, could they? They had checked the entire planet, but it was always possible that they could have missed something… he turned a corner of the temple.

And then he stopped dead, color draining from his pale blue face, suddenly looking nauseated. Slowly he picked up his comlink again, swallowing with a suddenly dry, tight throat before speaking.

"Never mind; I think I found him…"

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"I don't understand it," Maj said, shaking his head and trembling, "It doesn't look like any animal did this; the cuts are too clean."

The Geonosian biologist, called Bul, clicked something in his native tongue, and his personal translator droid said, "And the marks don't match up to any Imperial blaster weapon we've seen, that's for sure."

"It just makes no sense," agreed a Mon Calamarian medic, Kahon, from the other side of the room. "We know for a fact that there are no Imperials here; we checked everywhere, and no sign of sentient life exists! The marks are too clean and accurate to have been made by any animal or weapon that we know exists; except, of course, for a lightsaber..." He paused to let that information sink in.

Maj paled again, and Bul rattled his wings in sudden understanding.

"…and no one we know has a lightsaber, except-"

"Vader," finished Maj. More desperately, "But he can't be here! We would know; our sensors would have picked up his ship or _something_!"

"Not necessarily."

"Darklighter," greeted Maj, turning to face the door, "You have something to tell us?"

"Unfortunately," Biggs Darklighter, a human with dark hair and moustache, replied. "Mon Mothma just sent me to inform you of something one of our Selonian spies recently uncovered while working in their shipyards. The Imperials have taken Selonia-"

"Stang," whispered Maj; that was an important system.

"-and have developed something we didn't think could be done, at least not for many years. They've created a complete cloaking shield."

Bul clicked and hissed, and the protocol droid translated, "No disrespect intended, but that's already been done. Many of our ships are undetectable to Imperial sensors."

"You misunderstand," Biggs replied, sitting down on the closest chair and rubbing his temples, "This cloaks against sensors… and it's visual."

"What!" Kahon sat straight up in his chair, "But that's impossible!"

Once again, Bul's clicking was translated by the droid. "Apparently not."

Maj whistled, "Which means…"

"… that Vader and his ship could be in plain sight right in front of this temple, and we would never even see him," finished Biggs darkly.

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, and all Star Wars content except for my OC Darth Taegous (me!) is (c) Lucasfilm Ltd. George Lucas owns everything.**

**Author's note: …and Chapter 3 finished, and it isn't July! Please review and let me know if you like it! Comments, criticism, anything is appreciated:) Next chapter should be sometime in the next two weeks or so.**


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